Williamson, WV — Norfolk Southern Railroad has laid off 20 workers at its rail yard in Williamson, West Virginia. The company released a statement Friday that said the decision is in line with other moves made to streamline the rail transportation company. According to the statement, the furloughed 20 employees in Williamson will have the opportunity to apply for positions elsewhere at Norfolk Southern. The company laid-off nearly 40 conductors from its Roanoke, Virginia operations in January 2016 and there were 200 permanent layoffs of engineers and conductors in 2012 impacting southern West Virginia. The downturn in the coal market was blamed for those layoffs.